Neel Lakshminarayan

o Origin of Kanban

o Kanban and Lean

o Getting started with Kanban

o Goals

o Core properties of Kanban

o Scientific Models

o Software practices

o Japanese word that means “visual/signal

card”.

o It’s origins are in manufacturing in

Toyota. Kanban is the method that

enables “Just In Time (JIT)”.

An evolutionary change method

that utilizes a pull system,

visualization, WIP limits and

other tools to catalyze a lean

outcome in an organization. Source: David J. Anderson

Identify Value

Map the value stream

Pull

Continuous Improvement

Systems Thinking

Lean is the destination Kanban is the journey

Source: http://www.agileproductdesign.com

1. Start with what you do now.

2. Agree to pursue incremental,

evolutionary change

3. At the beginning, respect the current

process, roles, responsibilities & titles

Source: David J. Anderson

o Improve throughput

o Reduce lead times

o Improve economic outcomes

To There From Here

1. Visualize work

2. Limit WIP

3. Manage Flow

4. Make process policies explicit

5. Improve collaboratively using models and scientific methods

Source: David J Anderson

Source: http://www.agileproductdesign.com

If constraint moves, go to step 1

Elevate the constraint

Subordinate all other processes to the constraint

Exploit the constraint

Identify the constraint

Source: Theory of Constraints (Eliyahu Goldratt)

Deming’s teachings

Toyota Production System

Theory of Constraints

Systems thinking

Lead time = WIP / Throughput

Don’t test more code than you can deploy

Test

Don’t write more code than you can test

Code

Don’t write more specs than you can code

Analyze

Don’t build features that nobody needs right now

Plan

Corey Ladas : leansoftwareengineering.com

1. Focus on Quality

2. Reduce WIP

3. Deliver often

4. Balance demand against capability

5. Prioritize

6. Attack sources of variability to improve predictability

Source: David J Anderson Associates

Defects are the biggest waste

Peer review, TDD, design patterns, collaborative development and other good engineering practices exist for improving quality

Reduced WIP improves quality

Sociologists call trust “Social Capital”

Small frequent gestures enhance trust more than large gestures made occasionally.

Frequent iterative delivery increases social capital

Small batches of code improve quality

Define the release cadence. Balance it with the input cadence. Pull systems help tremendously here

The throughput will be constrained by a bottleneck. Use WIP limits to identify the constraint.

Don’t optimize for utilization. Don’t remove all bottlenecks.

Create slack. Slack is necessary for continuous improvement.

Prioritization is a business function but engineering can influence it

Predictability is a requirement for meaningful prioritization

Trust needs to be established before engineering can influence the business

Variability results in more WIP and longer lead times

Reduced variability increases predictability

Reducing variability in knowledge work is challenging but possible

A mechanism to classify work to provide acceptable levels of customer satisfaction at an optimal cost

All work items are assigned to a COS

Determines priority within the system

Spares us from detailed estimates and planning

Examples: Standard, Expedite, Fixed Date

Leads to a leaner organization

Improves collaboration

Develops a sustainable pace of development

Enables a culture of continuous improvement

Produces software of higher quality

Start Finishing Stop Starting

Toyota Production System- Beyond large scale production: Taiichi Ohno

Theory of Constraints: Eliyahu M. Goldratt

Managing the Design Factory: Donald G. Reinertsen

Lean Software Development – An agile toolkit: Mary & Tom Poppendieck

Kanban – Successful Evolutionary Change for your technology business: David J.

Anderson